pattern junkie

Verna Wants to Know How That Sounds

One of the things I love finding on vintage patterns are notations made by prior owners.  Sometimes they're as mysterious as a secret message.  Other times they offer a glimpse of a seamstress' well-laid plans.  Yet other times they're the final trace of that rage that comes with a failed sewing project.

McCall's 9780 belonged to a "Verna Stein," according to the name one the envelope.  At first I assumed that Verna was a very exacting child and this pattern was part of a careful negotiation with her mother.  The note reads: 

I would like this one, but with a big sash tie in back & lace around the neck and sleeves.  How does that sound?

 

McCall's 9780, 1969

 

But the writing is so neat, so precise -- this isn't a child's scrawl.  I think Verna hired a seamstress, and these were her written instructions to her. 

Still, I prefer to think of Verna as a precocious little girl, mouth twisted in concentration as she  consults her penmanship book and underlines all the important words in her oh-so-polite fashion note to Mother.  I wonder what kind of fabric she chose.

 

Monday Morning Eye Candy: Asymmetrical Wiggle Dress

Start your week with a peek with this beautiful number: Modes Royale 1014, a slinky asymmetrical 1940s dress.  The skirt is, of course, the first thing that catches my eye, but I also love the collar detailing.

You can find it on eBay right now for the admittedly steep price of $50.  If you buy it and make it, send pics!  (Just follow the link above to go to the listing.)

I've been getting a lot of new visitors from my recent post on Gertie's blog: welcome!  Thanks for stopping by!

For old and new readers alike, I've been doing a bit of blog maintenance...I've finally set up a Facebook page since Google Friend Connect no longer works on non-Blogger blogs.  You can also follow the blog on Twitter here, but I really only use that to notify followers of new blog posts.  Interacting and discussing things on FB makes more sense to me: when I try to read a Twitter feed, I feel like I'm looking at lines of code in THE MATRIX.

 

Unfortunate Fashion Friday: Double Knit Wonders

I don't think I need to explain why I threw McCall's 3442 into the "unfortunate fashion" pile:

McCall's 3442, 1972

To be fair, the actual pattern -- the pants and "shirt-jacket" -- are fine.  But the (entirely fictional) fabric is a terrifying example of 1970s double-knit wonder.

Red Plaid Pants is actually the best-dressed one of the bunch.  I think he and Green Boots -- green boots! -- are congratulating each other on Green Boots' fashion choices.  (Really?  A red lumberjack shirt-jacket with key lime boots?)  Meanwhile poor Navy Plaid looks on...whether in disdain for his compatriots' fashion choices or sadness that they have not noticed his white webbing belt, I cannot say.

Kittens Tell of Romance

Happy Valentine's Day!  For those of you in the mood for romance, I have a guest post up over at Gertie's blog on heart pockets.  (Want even more heart-shaped pockets?  Check out my earlier post on them, or take a look at the category in the Vintage Wiki.)

But for those of you feeling grumpy this Valentine's Day, I present Aunt Martha's 9351, "Kittens -- Tell of Romance."  Check out the unintentionally brilliant note scrawled on the envelope: "used up."

We've all been there, haven't we?

A Sure Way To Any Boy's Heart

In keeping with the romance theme for Valentine's Week, here's a pattern from the 1930s, Pictorial Review 9051:

What's so romantic about this windbreaker?  Ah, I'll let the pattern description do the talking:

A sure way to any man's or boy's heart is by making this windbreaker. He'll like either the one- or two-piece back and slide fastener closing.

Why didn't anyone tell me that a way to a man's heart was through a windbreaker?!

But don't worry, ladies...this pattern is SNEAKY.  Your target will never know that you aim to rule his heart...because as the insightful post on this pattern over at Unsung Sewing Patterns points out, the illustration goes out of its way to show Men Doing Manly Things.  Checking a compass, throwing a stick for a fox terrier much like the famed fox terrier of the time, Asta...the instructions even show someone fishing. 

Junkies young and old, you now know the secret to hooking a man's heart...sew, sew, sew away!

Monday Morning Eye Candy: Walk in a Whisper

Valentine's Day is coming, so it's time to go over-the-top on the romance front here at Pattern Junkie.  Look no further than Modes Royale 1321, which advises you to "Look romantic and walk in a whisper."  (Try doing that before your morning coffee!)

Modes Royale 1321, Spring/Summer 1955

Unfortunate Fashion Friday: The Bermuda Jumpsuit, or That Creep Can Roll

Even great designers have their missteps.  Behold Bill Blass and Vogue 1461, the Bermuda jumpsuit (shudder):

I admit it.  There's an evil little part of me that wants to devote my limited sewing time to making this for Mr. PatternJunkie just to see the look of horror on his face when I present it to him.  (He'd never wear it.  Mr. PJ is an old school punk rocker who prefers black fabric, skulls, and insists that "shorts" stop about four inches above his ankles.) 

A Bermuda jumpsuit may not be worth hours of sewing time, but milliseconds of Google searching to see if I could catch one in the wild?  Certainly!  Sadly, I could find no evidence of any 1970s survivors...but at the extraordinary website MyJumpsuit.com ("Enjoy Your Lifestyle...Work Is Allowed...Fits Your Activities") I found the elusive shorty jumpsuit for men:

Nope.  Not even the magic touch of Bill Blass and his welt pockets and self-tie belt can save this.

On the other hand, MyJumpsuit.com has a costume section.  I never realized how many male costumes revolved around jumpsuits.  Mork, Super Dave, Jack LaLanne...and of course, my favorite, Jesus Quintana from The Big Lebowski. 

Mr. Pattern Junkie may be getting a jumpsuit after all.

(And if by some chance you HAVEN'T seen THE BIG LEBOWSKI...well, enjoy the Jesus Quintana scene, a sublime four minutes of madness.  To quote Donny, "I am the walrus.")

 

Monday Morning Eye Candy: Draped Elegance

A lovely start to the week, simple and timeless as a cappuccino.  Behold Vogue 7218:

Happy New Year, fellow Junkies!  I've missed you!

Monday Morning Eye Candy: Ahoy, Matey!

In honor of Halloween, a luscious 1930s pirate costume, DuBarry 1300b.  If only it included those boots!  Check out the skull and crossbones on them!

The pattern is available on ebay for another four days, so you have plenty of time to sew this up for next Halloween.  You'll look smashing and you can inform your fellow revelers that women have been dressing up as sexy versions of (insert name here) for the holiday for decades. 

Me, I've always taken the opposite approach and dressed as something hideous.  That's the point of Halloween, isn't it?  I'm usually pretty happy when I leave the house -- but then I arrive at a party full of bustier and short skirt-wearing firewomen, nurses, superheroes and cats (oh, the cats!).  Doubt sets in and by night's end you'll find me at the snack table, trying to keep my fake scars from falling into the punch.

 

Camouflage Comes In Yellow, Too

 Oh, Kwik Sew.  I don't know what to say.  At this point you're really the pattern company that keeps on giving to this blog, aren't you?

Again, Kwik Sew: the pattern illustration should MAKE ME WANT TO SEW!  Not remind me that, after all that work, I'm going to be washing urine out of my carefully stitched seams.